Was reached out to by a prior colleague for a referral. Also, was getting requested via external recruiter about the position.
Once referred, I was set up with a recruiter for a quick discovery. We went over the role, my background etc. Then set up next steps.
My first 'formal' interview was a video conference with a direct manager, who passed me forward.
My second interview was with my referrer who gave me further position insight.
Third interview was a back-to-back interview. This was with a senior manager and a team member. I did not choose to move forward past this point.
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I was a bit frustrated with this process, as the senior manager (3rd interview) harped on my tenure and claimed it didn't fit their 'criteria'. It made the entire 30-minute block very awkward and he didn't want to participate. When at the recruiter stage, initial interview, the recruiter assured me it wouldn't pose a problem even after pointing out the requested experience of 3-5 years. I took his word, as he was an internal recruiter and was sure their communication between managers and recruiter was strong enough to know what was acceptable.
A few concerning notes about Zoom that pushed me not to move forward before hearing their disposition:
1. Security. All sorts of industries are pushing Zoom away for recent security concerns. Being at a competitor today, customers that we win notate this. Daily.
2. Product. Felt like their offering wasn't totally up to par with competition. Very young to the telcom market poses high concern for the product itself. But also can be a great success depending on all varibles.
3. Process. Noticed several descrepancies/concerns when explained process/training when talking to everyone in the mix of interviews. Each person had a different twist on their processes and could tell who was hiding the good/bad/ugly. Felt like there were potentially some things being hidden that weren't exposed directly to be concerned about.
4. Role description. Upon reviewing the role with both management and ground level during process, noticed several descrpancies around what the role actually entailed. Other variables opened up upon further investigation at the team level.
5. Manager insight. Energy from management felt a bit tight, from typical tech related companies.
I think Zoom is a respectable competitor with the new phone offering. But place in the market, product and company is extremely overvalued on the stock market today. For the longest time, I never had a desire to apply until being seeked out with various concerns around security and being so young to the market (from a telecom perspective)... this process and understanding the role now really validated that concern (and others) I had. I totally respect the direction, management and everyone involved during my interview(s). But if I'm being critical, these points pushed me away before they decided to move forward with other candidates.